COD-Diamond in the Rough

[SKUD]

I just finished a mission on the ATAG server. It starts off just before dawn when the stars are out and the faint glow on the horizon. As I looked at the stars I thought, that looks real. Then I noticed Cassiopeia and Orion and Ursa Major. As I lifted off and patrolled as the sun rose the red hue reflected off the morning clouds. From the rows of shadows from the plowed fields to the calm reflections off the water. It reminded me of the days I took the dawn ferry across the sound in the summer to fish on the island. It looked just like that.
When these things are so accurately reproduced you start believing it. That's what immersion is.
I thought this is so real, the work these guys have put into making this environment so convincing.
I bought DCS A10 a few months ago. I had read on forums that it had superior graphics-NOT. It is a flat, lifeless environment. The art, the sound, the entire visual and auditory experience of COD is so much superior in my opinion.
Game play and performance issues aside, COD has an environment that is second to none. Of course these devs have always had a knack for creating great environments, that was one of '46's main attraction.
My hat is off to the art folks at 1C. They have created a masterpiece.
The game in its current form is not perfect by a long shot, but I for one enjoy it thoroughly, especially those morning flights. COD has what it needs to become great, we just need to be patient and hope the devs don't give up. This talent is hard to find. Some day you'll be glad they didn't build the graphics engine to meet a GTX 260 spec.

[AKA_Tenn]

hmm DCS blackshark... airplanes land, helicoptors take off all around you on their own missions... and the battles can be fun, when you're looking into a city for 1 single guy standing between two buildings with an RPG... or watching a huge tank battle on a field, knowing your gonna get shot at... and that you still gotta kill those enemy tanks..., its like muahaha die evil ant things, at the same time your rushing like crazy trying to kill everything quick enough they don't kill u first....

but thats not air combat, thats not WW2, thats basically ground and pound, a bit of air mixed in, and its not like your gonna be doing many immelmans in a ka-50
anyway, thats besides the point, Clod has better graphics than dcs blackshark, and that's a huge part of the immersion... and i agree with you that Clod has potential, but like everyone's been saying... wait and see...

[irR4tiOn4L]

Some day you'll be glad they didn't build the graphics engine to meet a GTX 260 spec.

I'm glad today. Everytime I see the rows upon rows of buildings in London or other cities, the objects, roads, rivers, fields and so forth on the ground, the reflections and shadows on the aircraft and the various holes and damage when you hit them, I am oh so glad that the game was designed with maximum visual fidelity in mind.

Yes, I do wish some simple things were changed for improved performance. The density of cloud, dust and splash effects is unnecessary and optional reduced density versions could be introduced with a great fps gain, like the mods that already do this. Tree impacts would add immensely to the immersion and danger of crash landings and low level flying, given that crash landing in a forest is no thang at the moment.

There are even things I wish were more detailed. The rendering of various types of clouds, the colour of the ground and shades of green used, anti aliasing and most of all, the ability to see many more bullet impact decals/holes.

But all in all, very flew flight simulators look this good and I greatly appreciate the fact that I don't need to choose between FM and visual fidelity like I would if I had chosen to play Battle of Britain 2, IL2 1946, Falcon 4 or other outstanding sims.

[SlipBall]

I just finished a mission on the ATAG server. It starts off just before dawn when the stars are out and the faint glow on the horizon. As I looked at the stars I thought, that looks real. Then I noticed Cassiopeia and Orion and Ursa Major. As I lifted off and patrolled as the sun rose the red hue reflected off the morning clouds. From the rows of shadows from the plowed fields to the calm reflections off the water. It reminded me of the days I took the dawn ferry across the sound in the summer to fish on the island. It looked just like that.
When these things are so accurately reproduced you start believing it. That's what immersion is.
I thought this is so real, the work these guys have put into making this environment so convincing.
I bought DCS A10 a few months ago. I had read on forums that it had superior graphics-NOT. It is a flat, lifeless environment. The art, the sound, the entire visual and auditory experience of COD is so much superior in my opinion.
Game play and performance issues aside, COD has an environment that is second to none. Of course these devs have always had a knack for creating great environments, that was one of '46's main attraction.
My hat is off to the art folks at 1C. They have created a masterpiece.
The game in its current form is not perfect by a long shot, but I for one enjoy it thoroughly, especially those morning flights. COD has what it needs to become great, we just need to be patient and hope the devs don't give up. This talent is hard to find. Some day you'll be glad they didn't build the graphics engine to meet a GTX 260 spec.



Yea I've been really enjoying the nite time sky too...doing a lot of flight's to practice navigation

[ATAG_Snapper]

Yea I've been really enjoying the nite time sky too...doing a lot of flight's to practice navigation

Good to hear, guys. We had some vigorous opposition initially to the early a.m. mission starts -- understandable in that it's hard to see when taxiing, much less spotting enemy (or friendly) aircraft once aloft. Nav and landing lights would be a nice feature to have on and around an airfield! However, we did get a lot of voices in support of the early-dawn starts: bomber pilots taking off and traversing the Channel in cloak of darkness, and fighter pilots like yourselves who just enjoyed the beauty of watching the sun appear in the eastern horizon. I've read so many accounts of RAF pilots being awakened on midsummer mornings at 3:30 a.m. by their batmen bringing hot tea to ready them for a 4:00 briefing and a 4:30 a.m. take off. I suspect the Luftwaffe did not wait around for the morning mist to burn off by 9 a.m. before THEIR ops began, either!

[irR4tiOn4L]

Good to hear, guys. We had some vigorous opposition initially to the early a.m. mission starts -- understandable in that it's hard to see when taxiing, much less spotting enemy (or friendly) aircraft once aloft. Nav and landing lights would be a nice feature to have on and around an airfield! However, we did get a lot of voices in support of the early-dawn starts: bomber pilots taking off and traversing the Channel in cloak of darkness, and fighter pilots like yourselves who just enjoyed the beauty of watching the sun appear in the eastern horizon. I've read so many accounts of RAF pilots being awakened on midsummer mornings at 3:30 a.m. by their batmen bringing hot tea to ready them for a 4:00 briefing and a 4:30 a.m. take off. I suspect the Luftwaffe did not wait around for the morning mist to burn off by 9 a.m. before THEIR ops began, either!

That's true and its very beautiful too.

The only thing i'd add though is that it can be hard for new players trying to learn spotting though, because they don't yet have an 'eye' or 'feel' for what to look for, when and how far away dots appear and how to spot them among moving perspectives and against terrain.

These players would benefit from learning to spot properly in the daytime initially, before progressing onto the more advanced dusk situations. I know this because I happen to be such a player :-P

Actually, it would be great if a simple training program consisting of short videos timing how long before a pilot was able to spot things at various distances and letting them know what they missed was available.

But I appreciate the dusk/dawn timeslots.

[ACE-OF-ACES]

When these things are so accurately reproduced you start believing it. That's what immersion is.
Join the club!

And know that you are NOT alone! Many people here enjoy CoD in it's current state everyday of the week! But you wouldn't know it from most of the post in this forum.. Sadly there is just a handful of very vocal nay-sayers who are dedicated to looking for any opportunity to say something negative about this sim..

Even if it has been said 100,000 times before
Even if the developers acknowledged it and are working on it
Even if it is NOT true!

These few find their way into every post in this forum such that a newcomers may get the wrong impression that the majority feel the way they do, When in fact that is not the case at all. One only has to look at the weekly updates (latest being a good example) to note just how out numbered they are by the people who love this sim, even as is, and support the path the devs are one.

Long story short

We are in the majority..

It is just hard to tell based on the threads in this forum

[furbs]

If the majority of people who brought this sim were happy with it, you would find more than 50 people online.
Things might be different after the patch, at the moment most people have put on the shelf and are waiting.

I will be back online after the patch, and im not embarrassed to use my name.

[Volksieg]

......the colour of the ground and shades of green used....


I will say I agree with everything you wrote in that post apart from the above. :D Reason I say that is because, for a long time, I kept thinking that the shades of green used in the UK were all wrong.......... then I found myself on top of a fairly tall hill awhile back, looked out across the land and thought to myself "Whaddya know? Looks like nature has been using the wrong shades of green too." :D

They've actually got the colouring pretty spot on. As much as I love my country, I know this "Green & Pleasant land" is never going to look as pretty as Cyrodiil did in Oblivion. :D (At least not without a little "help"..... but I'm a 37 year old dad and my festival days are long over. lol)

As far as DCS A-10C Warthog vs Cliffs of Dover is concerned...... sure... it is nice to have a fully working sim. Problem is that, the few times I did fly DCS, I couldn't shake the idea I was flying a sim. Cliffs of Dover? After awhile of flying around on the ACG server in my 109..... I AM a luftwaffe pilot! (Well... at least until my son starts squawking or the missus offers me a cup of tea. lol)

[addman]

Yea I've been really enjoying the nite time sky too...doing a lot of flight's to practice navigation
;)


Join the club!

And know that you are NOT alone! Many people here enjoy CoD in it's current state everyday of the week! But you wouldn't know it from most of the post in this forum.. Sadly there is just a handful of very vocal nay-sayers who are dedicated to looking for any opportunity to say something negative about this sim..

Even if it has been said 100,000 times before
Even if the developers acknowledged it and are working on it
Even if it is NOT true!

These few find their way into every post in this forum such that a newcomers may get the wrong impression that the majority feel the way they do, When in fact that is not the case at all. One only has to look at the weekly updates (latest being a good example) to note just how out numbered they are by the people who love this sim, even as is, and support the path the devs are one.

Long story short

We are in the majority..

It is just hard to tell based on the threads in this forum

Quoted for truth Ace, quoted for truth. There are just a handful of neg-heads in this forum but they make a lot of noise. For most of us, the majority at least I'd say, the game is great in it's current state and will get even better as soon as the few patch niggles have been sorted. I can't even believe some people complain about this game at all, being state of the art and all even with some minor issues, we should be lucky nej! grateful actually, that it was released at all instead of canceled after over half a decade in development. Like "Duke Nukem Forever", it sure took it's time to be released but it was sure worth the wait, also a diamond in the rough IMO.

CloD has torn me away from World of Tanks, FSX and DCS: A-10C, those games just don't offer me the depth and longevity of CloD. I don't have any CTD issues but I guess because I'm playing mainly offline and boy! the offline experience in CloD is a real treat, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Online is just the icing on the cake, I'm saving that for after I've grown bored of the offline flying, pffft! like that'll ever happen, lol! Any who, don't listen to the neggies, they are all WRONG.

[Falstaff]

Ace-of-Aces said:

>>Join the club!<<

I have! It is a good place to be. Cabal...club...what's the difference? It feels good!

>>And know that you are NOT alone!<<

No, we stand beside you!

>>Many people here enjoy CoD in it's current state everyday of the week! <<

Yes they do! (do you mind if I borrow some of your exclamation marks?)

>>But you wouldn't know it from most of the post in this forum.. <<

Indeed not. Were it not for the help of yourself and others, I would have floundered in a sea of mis-information.

>>Sadly there is just a handful of very vocal nay-sayers who are dedicated to looking for any opportunity to say something negative about this sim..<<

Happily you are others are here to exorcise them, day after day, hour after hour, post after post...

>>Even if it has been said 100,000 times before<<

And now 100,001!

>>Even if the developers acknowledged it and are working on it<<

Might I politely ask if it is not just limited to the developers, but the more morally aware posters such as yourself also? Please do not be ashamed to admit to the stirling work you do in the name of this forum. It is always appreciated.

>>Even if it is NOT true!<<

*Especially* if it is not true!

>>These few find their way into every post in this forum such that a newcomers may get the wrong impression that the majority feel the way they do, When in fact that is not the case at all. <<

No, not the case at all.

>>One only has to look at the weekly updates (latest being a good example) to note just how out numbered they are by the people who love this sim, even as is, and support the path the devs are one.<<

Love!

>>We are in the majority..<<

We are!

>>It is just hard to tell based on the threads in this forum <<

But it is is becomign clearer with posts like yours?

Could I suggest your post is made into a sticky?

[ATAG_Snapper]

That's true and its very beautiful too.

The only thing i'd add though is that it can be hard for new players trying to learn spotting though, because they don't yet have an 'eye' or 'feel' for what to look for, when and how far away dots appear and how to spot them among moving perspectives and against terrain.

These players would benefit from learning to spot properly in the daytime initially, before progressing onto the more advanced dusk situations. I know this because I happen to be such a player :-P

Actually, it would be great if a simple training program consisting of short videos timing how long before a pilot was able to spot things at various distances and letting them know what they missed was available.

But I appreciate the dusk/dawn timeslots.

No question the pre-dawn mission start is difficult -- for some it's exceedingly difficult -- to operate under such dim conditions. Some players refuse to make the attempt, while others relish it. It's just one of an ever-growing rotation of missions. No one's going to like them all, nor do we expect that of anyone. We DO hope that we can provide, most of the time, something for everyone.

Personally, I'm hoping the performance increase in code with the new patch will allow missions with heavier cloud formations, more AI aircraft, more ground objects (ie targets!!) etc. Our intrepid mission designer, hc_wolf, is actively trying new stuff as I type this!

BTW Appreciate the feedback!

[carguy_]

I don't have any CTD issues but I guess because I'm playing mainly offline and boy! the offline experience in CloD is a real treat, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Online is just the icing on the cake, I'm saving that for after I've grown bored of the offline flying, pffft! like that'll ever happen, lol! Any who, don't listen to the neggies, they are all WRONG.
The problem with "neggies" as you put it, maybe even the majority of them is that they focus on everything the game might be in the future but is not from the very start. While I normally assume good will when reading critic posts, I always wonder why all the old timers (that experienced IL2 since 2001) pick on this game so often. You just have to take the work that has gone into the IL2, let alone that has gone to fixing CloD already.
Meanwhile, I enjoy big offline skirmishes over the LaManche.


And for the record, I have yet to experience a CTD on my PC playing CloD.

[furbs]

Try online Carguy, that's where the CTD's happen the most. there is no doubt they is great fun to be had in CLOD, ive had fun on ATAG lots of times, but until the CTD's stop online and we get squads involved CLOD will still be in the rough for me.

[carguy_]

furbs,
I have problems with this game too ; I post in the lack-of-coop threads as proof that there is a huge public waiting for coops to happen in Clod. However, you won`t see me calling Luthier a liar or insulting him in any other way about this topic. So besides few online visits I decided to drop mp and wait for coops. IMO the shout that the IL2-style coop public periodically gives out to the 1C is one of the few examples of constructive criticism everyone would like to see on these boards.

[Bob_Marley]

Falstaff got banned why? :confused:

[furbs]

I have no idea.

[robtek]

Maybe his change of coat wasn't believed?

[furbs]

Eh? So people can be banned for what they think and not what they type?
Thought police now.

[ACE-OF-ACES]

Could I suggest your post is made into a sticky?
Not a bad idea!

But in light of current events I guess you will have to wait on that one

[Bob_Marley]

I liked Falstaff he was a real gamer defending our rights as gamers a realist and he will truly be missed. :(


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrY9eHkXTa4&feature=fvwrel


For he who died shall live again

[Bokononist]

I too love those early morning missions, a mix of the beauty of the dawn and has been said, the difficulty spotting the early morning raiders coming across to bomb the British ships. I chased a 110 over the channel the other day, and when I lost sight of it he nearly turned the tables on me, loads of fun!

I liked Falstaff he was a real gamer defending our rights as gamers a realist and he will truly be missed.


For he who died shall live again

Umm you must be new here..

:grin:

[Bobb4]

Agree 100% with the OP. This game is immersive, it has signs of brilliance.
But online it is unplayable. That makes it half a game period.
Has it been fun to fly? Simple answer is yes. Is the game complete? Simple answer no.
Unfortunately everything now rides on a single patch, it will either be the game saver we all hope it will be or it will be the final nail in the coffin...
We can all find as many positives as negatives not just about clod, but about any game really if we are honest.
So throwing our toys out the cot if this or that does not make us happy is pointless.
What would make me happy is a working game online (this would make me happy, other people may have other priorities) and I am sure this patch will deliver.
One day we might be treated to a book written by Ilya about the development of Cliffs (clod) and I bet it will be the greatest never give up book ever.
Let’s just chronicle a few things:
Main programmer/developer Oleg Maddox jumps ship months before launch.
Ubisoft implement anti-epilepsy filter and announce surprise release date.
Game is released in Russia first and bombs as we are treated to stunningly horrific reviews.
Then it hits the rest of the world with a promised fix-all patch and an anti-epilepsy filter work-around.
Oh and it only had one ship type on release. A German minelayer, say it slowly with me, aaaaa Ggggeerrmannnnn minnelayyeerr was released as the only warship in a patch released after the game came out. More were supposed to follow?
Then War Over Moscow was first hinted at and talk shifted to sequel this and that with clod becoming a secondary project…
Like I said , it would make an interesting book.;)
But I stress “Agree 100% with the OP. This game is immersive, it has signs of brilliance.”

[pupaxx]

+1 I agree with u SKUD...
yesterday night I sacrificed one of my few spare evenings/nights dedicated to ATAG guys and joined, after several weeks I missed, some lazy mates in Il2-1946 UP3 RC4 cooperative missions (lazy cause they are still not prone to switch to CloD). This cost me a lot, I wasted my time with a game that sadly made its time; poor friends I hope they'll never know about this judgement! For sure the time spent with friends is never 'wasted' and I don't mean that; it's just to say that Clod, even with all issues and its incompleteness, is several steps forward his predecessors and the future is promising.
Cheers, I hope this evening to jump in ATAG server!;););)

[drewpee]

Yes I weep every time I read some one ask is COD worth buying yet, I don't want to play until all the bugs are sorted. Just try it man.
I haven't been able to play 1946 since I installed COD 12 months ago(bugs and all). I think a lot of people just don't like change. Here in OZ I miss seeing all the RAAF boys online:(

[TheGrunch]

I am in a horrible limbo whereby I know that I love this game but the performance on my mediocre machine ruins it enough that I decided to wait for the patch, but I can't seem to keep enough interest in 46 anymore so I don't play that either. Play a few QMB missions on both and potter around occasionally though. It does look and feel stunning when it's behaving itself.

[Helrza]

I haven't been able to play 1946 since I installed COD 12 months ago

yup, bout the same here. Its such a beautiful sim, so much detail.... I really cant go back :) Being an online only player i will sit here patiently and wait, i know the IL2 drought is about to end :)

[EAF51/155_TonyR]

Yes I weep every time I read some one ask is COD worth buying yet, I don't want to play until all the bugs are sorted. Just try it man.
I haven't been able to play 1946 since I installed COD 12 months ago(bugs and all). I think a lot of people just don't like change. Here in OZ I miss seeing all the RAAF boys online:(

+1

[carguy_]

Geez, Tony! 965 hrs? RLY? Methinks by the time dem wars get here we`ll have to ban you cuz you`d be pwning dem campaigns singlehandetly lol

[EAF51/155_TonyR]

984 hours now and 95% online. Sorry i have to update the signature.

[ATAG_Dutch]

711 hours here, mostly on ATAG after completing the RAF campaign.

Oh and a fair bit in FMB, tutorials, film clips etc. :)

[Chivas]

Join the club!

And know that you are NOT alone! Many people here enjoy CoD in it's current state everyday of the week! But you wouldn't know it from most of the post in this forum.. Sadly there is just a handful of very vocal nay-sayers who are dedicated to looking for any opportunity to say something negative about this sim..

Even if it has been said 100,000 times before
Even if the developers acknowledged it and are working on it
Even if it is NOT true!

These few find their way into every post in this forum such that a newcomers may get the wrong impression that the majority feel the way they do, When in fact that is not the case at all. One only has to look at the weekly updates (latest being a good example) to note just how out numbered they are by the people who love this sim, even as is, and support the path the devs are one.

Long story short

We are in the majority..

It is just hard to tell based on the threads in this forum

+1

Of course the naysayers seem to think their the only ones who can see the sims faults and will remind us add-nauseam what they are.

[proton45]

Immersion, is when you think that you smell the ocean, or an early morning breeze.

I know it sounds weird but their has been a couple of times that my brain was fooled into expecting a salty sea breeze. Just imagine...their I was flying above the coast line, and as I'm watching the waves break along the shoreline, I suddenly feel as if their is something missing from the experience...the smell, the smell of salt water and fresh air...gunpowder and gasoline. My brain is so stimulated by the visual cues of the simulation that it expects to smell, what it see's.